Tokoyami leads Reika into the park. He hasn't spoken a word to her. Even Dark Shadow stayed silent. "Where are we going, Fumi?" Reika asked as she followed him, still holding her hand. He didn't answer her. "I know I have a lot of explaining to do but you don't have to give me the silent treatment and the cold shoulder at the same time." She pouted.
"Apologies, Dove. I just have…a lot on my mind." He said as he gently squeezed her hand. He turns his head towards her as he smiles. "Beyond this point, I'm gonna have to ask you to close your eyes."
She looks at him with a confused look and a raised eyebrow, then closes her eyes. Dark Shadow looks at her then looks back at Tokoyami. "You and I both know that she would never cheat on anyone or anything. You remember what she said that night with the other girls during their meeting." He began to say.
"I know Dark Shadow. I heard what she said. It's just I-" He replied, squeezing her hand a little tighter. He feels her other hand place itself on top of his. Now she was holding his hand in both of hers.
"If the two of you are talking about Lionzo again, I told you not to worry about me being alone with him. Let's find a place to sit and I'll tell you everything." She said with her eyes still closed. She gently placed his hand on her choker. "He told me that this choker you gave me, will tell everyone that I belong to you and you alone. You have no need to worry about me cheating on you." She smiles.
He looks at her and smiles. "Nor I on you, Reika." He said. He takes her hand again and leads her to a clearing with a single Weeping Willow tree in the middle. Fireflies lighting the grass and flowers around it. Underneath the tree's bark, was a black and red blanket with a basket. "You can open your eyes now, Dove."
She opens her eyes and gasps in awe at the scenery around them. "Wow! This place is beautiful, Fumi!" She said as she walked around, admiring the scenery in front of her.
"Dark Shadow and I found this place one night while searching for you. This is one of the places we come to when we need to clear our heads from the day's events. I wanted so much to show this place to you since we found it but we couldn't find the right time to show you, until now that is." He explained as he led her to the blanket and gently set her down on it. He sat down beside her, reached into the basket and brought out a couple bottles of apple juice, handing one to her. "Shall we have a midnight snack?" He asked.
"We shall. I do have a lot to explain so we might be here a while." She said as she took the bottle of juice.
"That's fine by me." He said as he held her hand.
"I guess I should start with where I've been since leaving you to search for mom. Basically after I found proof that she was indeed gone, I was approached by the HPSC almost right after. They asked me to join them, but I refused and ran from them. I assure you I was planning to come home after finding proof. But after I was approached by them there was no way I could come home and get the four of you hurt because of me. I ran until I found a cage with a mother black wolf and her four pups in it on a truck. The side of the truck had HPSC on the side, so I knew that they captured them for something. As for what, I was too little to know or understand. But I used my feather to unlock the cage and set them free. In return for saving them, the mother wolf somehow knew human speech and told me to follow her, since then I've been a part of their pack. Lionzo is actually one of her surviving pups so he's basically another adopted brother. He and his brother and sisters helped me train with my quirk." She explained.
"So, Lionzo's family adopted you?" He asked. She nodded her head. He sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. I was afraid he was gonna take you away from me. I can't let that happen now can I." He said.
"I keep telling you that you don't need to worry about him. Anyway, over the years I've been living with the pack, they've been teaching me about the animals that have quirks. Both mother wolf and Yukihime have a quirk that allows them to communicate to humans as well as to disguise themselves as humans, as you saw with Lionzo. Without Yukihime in the room with us, You and Dark Shadow wouldn't have been able to communicate to Lionzo freely the way you did. It makes sense as to why they need Koda to help us rescue the animal at the HPSC, he's the only one of us that can communicate with animals." She explained.
"That would explain why I only heard barking until I reached the classroom. The closer the principal and I got to the door, the more his barking became words. I saw Dark Shadow was lying on the ground with the pup on him. I sensed his anger and jealousy, but I didn't understand why he felt like that until I saw that man before he changed into the black wolf. I was able to understand him around the time Dark Shadow was talking about why he followed you. I know you have secrets that are better left hidden from the world, everyone does, and you don't have to tell them to me, no matter how much I want to know about them. So I won't force you to tell me anything you don't want to." He explained.
She smiles then kisses the side of his beak. "Once we rescue the animal from the HPSC, I'll tell you all my secrets. But for now I can tell you of all the animals that I know that have quirks." She said. They hear a hoot from above them. They look up to see a Greater Sooty Owl circling above them with an envelope in its beak. Her smile widens as her eyes light up. "Tenshi! You naughty owl. Did you sneak out of your enclosure again?" She said happily as the owl landed on her arm and nuzzled into her neck. "I missed you too girl." She looks at Tokoyami. "Fumi, This is Tenshi, one of my best friends and a member of the animal kingdom. She's a Greater Sooty Owl from the local zoo. Her quirk is lockpicking. As you can see, she used her quirk to sneak out of her enclosure again. There are many other animals at the zoo that have quirks that not many humans know about. But the less people know about the animals with quirks the better. Which is why you need to stop taking midnight flights around Japan. We don't want the HPSC capturing you again." She explained before looking at the owl named Tenshi.
The owl holds out the envelope towards them. She gently takes it and opens it. Inside the envelope were two separate letters. One was written in Japanese while the other was written in English. She read the one written in Japanese first. "Is it from Lionzo?" He asked.
"No, it's from Gin, The Silverback Gorilla. His quirk allows him to write in any language. He taught me how to speak and write in English after joining the pack. His quirk is one of the very few that we humans know about but other humans think it's one of his talents, aside from sign language. This one says that there will be a meeting in two days to determine how to save the animals. Wait, there's more than one? Anyway, we humans can't attend the meeting but we need to find someone that can be there on our behalf, an animal of some kind. Principal Nezu will also attend but to watch over the animal we choose as our representative." She explains.
"I think Koda has a pet rabbit at the dorms, since we'll need to ask for his help with the mission anyway. Maybe we can ask if we can borrow his rabbit?" Tokoyami suggested.
"That's exactly what I was thinking, my knight." She said as she smiled.
"Oh, I just remembered. I heard Lionzo said that he was enlisting the help of an animal with a foresight ability. I think he said that its name was Links. Who is that?" He asked.
"Links is a Ring-Tailed Lemur at the zoo. She's the one that predicted that I would save Lionzo's pack and become one of the few humans that know about the kingdom. Her enclosure is near the American Bald Eagle enclosure. One of them living there, Washi, has the telepath quirk. He communicates to Links almost on a daily basis through telepathy. So he's the one that relays messages to the other animals and with Tenshi and Gin's help, us humans as well." She explained.
"Who are the other humans who know about the kingdom?" He asked.
"There are pro heroes such as my brother, Gang Orca, Hound Dog, Mirko, Centipeder, and other pro heroes with animal-like traits. As for us students, there's Jack Mantis and Pony Tsunotori from class 1-B, Tsuyu, Habuko Mongoose, a friend of Tsuyu's from Isamu Academy, me, and finally, you. Once Koda agrees to help, he will be a part of it too. There are other humans that know about this kingdom from all around the world but we are just the ones from Japan. I have a penpal from the U.S. who knows about the animal kingdom in her country. She once told me that there's a horse that has a horn but its quirk is telekinesis! There's also an elephant with a teleportation quirk! Another horse with wings that can make its feathers really sharp, like me and Keigo can! A tiger with incredible speed that's faster than even a Cheetah! And a-" She explained, beginning to get excited when she started talking about her pen pal and the animals from the United States. He kissed her lips tenderly to shut her up.
Her eyes widened when he kissed her suddenly. He breaks the kiss seconds later. "I love your excitement Dove, but you must lower your voice here. If anyone finds out that we're here past curfew, we'll be in big trouble." He said as he looked deep into her now dazed eyes and smiled.
"Big trouble is right. I didn't think the two of you were crazy enough to go on a late night date, and on a school night even. I thought the two of you were smarter than this, baby blue." They heard Hawks' voice from above them. They jumped and looked up to see him sitting down on a branch above them.
"K-Keigo?! How did you find us?!" She asked as she blushed.
"Washi told me that Tenshi had gotten out of her enclosure when Gin had given her an envelope. I contacted him and we came looking for you." They heard Nezu's voice from afar. They see him walk underneath the weeping willow's leaves towards them.
"Awe man! They found our secret hiding spot." Dark Shadow pouted as he crossed his arms.
"Guess it's not much of a secret now is it, Dark Shadow." Tokoyami sighed.
"So, Tokoyami is finally one of us. Didn't think Lionzo trusted him enough to let him join." Hawks said.
"He doesn't completely trust him. He has to prove himself with this upcoming mission." Nezu replied. He looks towards Reika. "I heard Links had a vision about the captive animals. Is that what the letter they gave you is about?" He asked.
She nodded her head. "Yeah. You already know about the meeting that will discuss how to save them, but the Star Nosed Mole has the mech creating quirk, a tigress and her kit with telekinesis, a small puppy that can create AIs with coding, and a rabbit that can hack into supercomputers. She says that there might be many more but those are the only ones that she was able to see from her vision." She explained.
"That many?" Tokoyami and Hawks asked with their eyes widened.
"I see. This is very troubling news. I will have to make a visit to the zoo tomorrow and discuss things with everyone there. For now the two of you should be getting back to your homes. I will call you both to the office in the morning to discuss your punishment for being out past curfew and for Mr. Tokoyami, off school grounds at night." Nezu explained.
"Yes sir." They both said at the same time.
"Come on baby blue. Let's get you home. I'll have to think of a punishment for you later. For now it's straight to bed for you." Hawks said as he yawned.
"Alright. And back to your enclosure for you, Tenshi." She said in a sad tone then looked at the owl. She turns to give Tokoyami a hug before flying off after Hawks.
He watches as she flies home with Hawks before following Nezu back to UA. "Has Miss Takami explained everything about the animal kingdom to you?" He asked.
"The majority of it, I think. How many of the zoo animals have quirks? She only told me about the owl, the gorilla, the lemur, and a bald eagle." He asked.
"If I remember correctly, there are twenty animals in all that have quirks that live there. But there aren't many that live in the wild. Most of the animals that have quirks are either living in Zoos or nature reserves around the world." He said.
"What about common household pets, like cats and dogs? Reika said that there was a young dog among those we have to save." He asked.
"Though there are some household pets that have quirks, they are the ones we have not found yet. The puppy and rabbit are just the first of many. So I ask you not as our school's principal, but as one of the Lords of the kingdom of animal quirks, Mr Tokoyami. Will you aid us in our search to find and save these animals?" Nezu asked as he smiled.
"Of course. It would be an honor." He said.
There was an awkward silence between Hawks and Reika on their way back to his mansion. "Hey Reika. Have you ever thought about marriage?" He asks, breaking the silence.
"I've never thought of it seriously, but when I was a kid I used to imagine myself being married to him. It made me feel really happy. But I haven't thought about it for a long time." She explained.
"Maybe you should give it some real thought. Would you be as happy as you were back then, being married to him for real?" He suggested.
"Hawks, I'm only sixteen. I shouldn't be thinking about marriage. I should be thinking about my grades, assignments, training, and the twins. The school year is almost over for us and soon Fumi and his classmates are going to be second years." She said.
"So will you. You're a part of 1-A as well. Sure you joined a little late in the year, but you're catching up very quickly with the rest of the class. Not entirely sure how, maybe it could be your street smarts. Either way, you are getting just as much knowledge and experience in that class as all your other classmates. Plus you have made a lot of friends there, not to mention you and Tokoyami are dating." He said as he flew beside her.
"The reason why I'm catching up to them fairly quickly is because of Gin teaching me English, Japanese, and sign language and Principal Nezu math, science, and national studies when I'm not working. Basically general studies courses but I wasn't an actual student until a few months ago." She said.
"But you've gotten yourself into the hero course without hardly any help. My question for you is how?" He asked.
"A couple years after I ran from the HPSC, Lionzo and I were on a mission to save a family of racoons with quirks that allowed them to turn trash into jewels. Apparently we passed by the school while I was using my quirk to buy some time for us to escape the captures and Hound Dog saw me through the camera. He told Nezu and I wound up working for him since then." She explained.
"Interesting. Knowing Nezu, he probably told you to never use your quirk in public, right?" He asked. She just nodded her head yes. "Thought so."
"Keigo. Out of curiosity, what sort of quirks did our parents have?" She asked. He landed on a street corner, close to his mansion before looking at her.
He stares at her until she lands beside him. He looks out towards UA. "Our wings are a mutation of sorts from our old man's quirk, but our mother had a second pair of eyes that floated around her head. Kinda like a foresight ability, so to speak. She was basically the living embodiment of a mother with eyes in the back of her head." He explained. He turns to look at her. "Why do you ask that, baby blue?"
"So that must be why." She muttered to herself. She plucks a feather from her wing and holds it up to him. "Everyone thinks that my quirk is similar to yours and though they are able to turn sharp like yours, they're able to do something else." She closes her eyes and a couple seconds later, a golden eye appears on the blue feather. "I can use my feathers as a sort of spy equipment, though I can't do this for long if I have over a hundred of them flying around. I mainly keep this part of my quirk secret from the others. Fumi, his parents, and the twins are the only people that know of it, aside from Nezu. Everyone else just thinks that my quirk is Fierce Wings like yours."
His eyes widened. "That is one powerful quirk you have, baby blue. That would sure come in handy on rescue missions and recons. Does it have a name?" He asked. She nodded her head no.
"I've never thought of a name for it nor a hero name." She replied as the eye of the feather disappeared and she opened her eyes again. "Didn't think I'd need one since I wasn't a student back then."
"Maybe this weekend we can work together to think of a Hero name for you as well as think of a name for your quirk. Right now, I'm thinking; Spy Wings, Feather Sight, Feather Spy, Wings of Sight, Sharp Specks, Hawkeyes, Future Flyer, I've got so many Ideas right now!" He said as they walked towards the mansion.
She giggled. "I don't think those would be good hero names, Keigo." She said.
"Those are just names for your quirk. I haven't thought of any Hero names for you yet, besides Blue Dove." He said.
She looks at him in annoyance. "Why Blue Dove?" She asked.
"Because you have blue wings and Tokoyami always calls you his dove. I say that's a fitting hero name for you." He explained. They hear her phone go off. He smirks. "Speaking of your Black Knight."
She takes out her phone and looks at the message. "He's just letting us know that he got back to the dorms safely and some of our friends were worried about him being gone for so long." She said as her phone went off again. She giggles again. "And Ida gave him an earful. Looks like Fumi's handling his lecture pretty well." She shows him a picture of Ida lecturing Tokoyami, who was looking at him with a bored and tired expression on his face.
Hawks chuckled. "Ida is the class rep, right?" He asked. She nodded her head yes.
"He's basically one of the leaders of the class. Momo is the second class rep." She said, walking into the house. "Guess I should head to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow, with asking Koda to help with the mission and to borrow his bunny, as well as grab Yukihime after school. She's going to be staying with us for safety reasons until this mission is over and I told Lionzo I'd bring the twins to see the pack."
"Before you leave for school tomorrow, come see me." He said before she headed into the guest room she's using.
"Ummm…okay? What for?" She asked suspiciously.
"You'll find out soon enough." He said. The next morning Reika did what he had asked of her. He took her phone away and gave her a retro looking flip phone. "The only contacts there are mine, Nezu's, and Aizawa's. You have a limited amount of minutes to use. Only use this phone in real emergencies, always have it turned on at all times. There aren't any texting or internet capabilities. As of today you are grounded from using your phone until further notice. Also, starting today you will have extra classes with Aizawa after regular school. It will also count as your detention." He explained. This was Reika's punishment from the night before.
When she got to the school, she saw Tokoyami waiting outside Aizawa's classroom with a worried expression on his face, pacing back and forth. She runs toward him and places her hands on his shoulders. He hugs her tightly. "Rei, Dove where have you been, I've been trying to call and text you all morning?" He asked in a worried tone.
"Sorry Fumi. Keigo took my phone and gave me this flip phone as punishment for last night. I can only use it in emergencies so I'm gonna be away from my phone for a while." She explained.
He sighed in relief. "At least you're alright. I was so afraid that something happened to you." He said.
"It's okay, everything's alright. I'm here now." She said as she calmed him down the only way she knew how. She petted his head. "Come on. Let's get into class before we're late" She smiled at him. When the bell rang, everyone was in their seats and ready to learn.
During lunch, Tokoyami explained to Reika about how he has to attend extra classes with her as a part of their detention. Aizawa was going to put him under house arrest for a week, but decided against it because he didn't fight with another classmate. Instead he assigned him with a week of outdoor manual labor with Hound Dog.